1. Technical Field
This document relates to methods and materials involved in detecting methylated mammalian nucleic acid (e.g., methylated human DNA) in stool.
2. Background Information
About half of all cancer deaths in the United States result from aerodigestive cancer. For example, of the estimated 564,800 annual cancer deaths, 160,100 (25%) result from lung cancer; 56,500 (10%) result from colorectal cancer; 28,900 (6%) result from pancreas cancer; 13,700 (3%) result from stomach cancer; and 11,900 (3%) result from esophagus cancer. In addition, over seven percent of the annual cancer deaths result from other aerodigestive cancers such as naso-oro-pharyngeal, bile duct, gall bladder, and small bowel cancers (Landis et al., CA Cancer J. Clin. 48:6-29 (1998)).